Fighting Eagles Crash Land on Minnesota Airport Runway

(AP) – Two bald eagles locked together by their talons in a midair battle survived a crash landing onto a runway at a northeastern Minnesota airport.

Minnesota Department of Natural Resources conservation officer Randy Hanzal says the adult eagles couldn’t separate Sunday before slamming into the tarmac at the Duluth International Airport.

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Hanzal tried to take the birds to a Duluth wildlife rehabilitation center. He covered them with blankets and jackets on the back of his pickup and held them down with webbing straps. En route, Hanzal says, he heard a ruckus and saw one bird jump out and fly away.

The Duluth News Tribune (http://bit.ly/12rDalM ) says the other eagle made it to the rehab center and is now being cared for by the University of Minnesota in St. Paul’s Raptor Center.